The city finally gets it right about school PCBs

A year ago, before the Christmas break, a teacher at PS 36 in Annadale pointed out an oily substance that had dripped from a light fixture in a classroom.

Naturally, it raised legitimate concerns about safety. Before the problem was identified, hundreds of parents kept children home from school amid worries about contamination.

Tests found chemicals known as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) at 200 times the level considered to be safe for school officials, faculty members and, in particular, children.

Soon after the frenzy began on Staten Island, the Department of Education (DOE), after much stalling, grudgingly announced a $708-million, 10-year plan to remove PCBs from 772 schools across the city. The cleanup will include about 70 percent of the public schools on Staten Island.

It’s been a long time coming, but the City Council has just passed a bill to prevent the kind of speculation and worry that surrounded the incident at PS 36.

The new procedure requires the DOE to notify the parents of students in any city public or charter school within seven days about the results of PCB testing or inspections.

“This is probably the most significant PCB legislation in the country,” said South Shore Republican Councilman Vincent Ignizio, the sponsor of the bill. “It will lead to change, I believe, throughout many municipalities, and put a spotlight on PCBs.”

Which is what Mr. Ignizio first did early in 2011 when he focused on the obligation of the reluctant Bloomberg administration to confront the crisis in Annadale. The city, worried about potentially huge remediation costs citywide, had looked the other way for a long time on the question of the dangers that PCBs posed in school buildings.

Until they were banned from construction in the United States in the late 1970s, PCBs were commonly used as insulation in electrical equipment because they do not burn easily and do not explode. They were also used in window caulk.

However, they are now considered a suspected cause of cancer, known to be a neurotoxin and a reputed source of cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and cognitive ills.

In children, long-term exposure to PCBs has been associated with learning difficulties, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and increased aggression.

“Part of the biggest issue for the PS 36 parents was finding information,” Mr. Ignizio said.

Of the new rules, he said, “Everything will be articulated clearly.”

Parents and employees must be told what steps the city has taken, or will take, towards complete PCB cleanup, along with a timeframe for this remediation.

Other new legislation requires the DOE to submit an annual report to the City Council on the progress being made to rid light fixtures of PCBs and to address issues related to PCBs in window caulk.

Staten Island owes a debt of thanks to Mr. Ignizio and to the City Council for their efforts to make sure public schools are safe.